


You Can Get up in my Space

by orphan_account



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:14:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25905667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: TRB Fic based on Maumo's art.Steve and Tony were made for one another, however that didn't mean that they didn't manage push one anothers buttons.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 59
Collections: 2020 Cap/Iron Man Tiny Reverse Bang





	You Can Get up in my Space

**Author's Note:**

  * For [marumo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marumo/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Keep A Proper Distance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25164658) by [marumo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marumo/pseuds/marumo). 



> Is a work for the TRB challenge and based on Marumo's art. I absolutely adore her art <3 , (go check if you haven't) so really wanted try to write something for it.

In all definitions of the meaning, Tony had died.

Standing inside the damaged hull of Tony's own private jet, Steve could only watch in mounting horror as Tony flew higher and higher, a black and gold bullet cast bright against the starry night sky. Time was of the essence. Concealed in the palm of his hand, a bomb , ticking away in a cold, remorseless, countdown. Higher still he climbed, till the glow of the arc reactor appeared to be nothing more then another distant star. Having reached the height of his climb, Tony seemed to hang suspended in midair for a few seconds. And even though it was impossible to see from such distance, Steve could have sworn he felt Tony's gaze lingering on him. One last time. 

_"I'm betting my life on all of you."_

The bomb went off seconds later, lighting up the night sky like some kind of violent firework display. Far, below the citizens of New York carried on their daily business blithely unaware of the near tragedy which had just been averted. Prevented only by Tony's sacrifice. Steve could do nothing but watch powerless the entire time. Even when the flames and fire had died away, even when the ashes(all that was left of Tony) had drifted away into nothingness, Steve had remained rigidly fixed, unable to tear his gaze away. Tony was dead, and almost immediately world seemed a little colder because of it.

Except it wasn't . 

Steve blinked, once, twice, and just like that, the murky darkness rapidly faded away to be replaced by blue, sun streaked skies and puffy, white clouds. The cramped confines of the jet had vanished, leaving Steve standing among the rubble and ruin of an ordinarily busy New York city street. In the distance, something large and alien lay prone across several city blocks. The end result of a fairly typical Monday. And zipping by in a blazing gleam of red and gold ? Iron Man. Which meant that Tony was still thankfully, very much alive. Singed and listing awkwardly as he descended, but miraculously in one piece. 

Curiously, Steve's initial reaction was one of irritation. 

Muttering softly under his breath, the soldier rubbed irritatedly at the corner of his eyes. Ever since the incident with the reality stone last week, Steve had felt out of sorts, tense and constantly on edge. Especially where Tony was involved. While it was a relief that they had all made it back in one piece, and even now Steve's own memories were hazy and of the ifading fast, the memory of Tony's last fateful flight that night still haunted him.

Tony had died.

"Cut it a little close there didn't you Rustbucket." Clint's called out, voice loudly intruding on his thoughts." For a moment, I was sure you were going to end up as an alien chew toy." Steve whipped around just in time to see Tony land lightly onto the pavement. 

The visor on his face plate opened smoothly, allowing him to shoot Clint a deeply dubious look from under raised brows, "Close?" he repeated incredulously," I could fly miles around that thing. In my sleep". As if to contradict this statement the thruster on his left boot chose that exact moment to give out with an electric pop and puff of smoke.

"You were saying?" Clint smirked, watching while Tony coughed and attempted to wave the smoke away.

" It just needs a tune up ".

Unprompted,Friday's mechanized voice filled the silence" Scans indicate heavy internal damage to the left thruster, as well as moderate damage to the entirety of the exoskeletal system."

"Okay. So it's trashed." Tony agreed. Sitting down heavily on a chunk of rubble he began the ardorous process of stripping the armor off . 

Clint lauged. Steve didn't. Nat put her hand on her hip as she stared at the rest of the team cooly, " SWORDS on their way to take care of damage control. ETA is in fifteen minutes." Without another word she stalked off towards the jet. Hulk and Thor lumbered after her, not of course without.a measure of pushing and shoving. Sam, by contrast flew off without a word.

Clint raised his arms in a lazy stretch, "Looks like we'll be back before lunch. My kind of day. " Strapping on his bow Clint sauntered off in the direction the others had gone. Tony made as if to follow too , only to be halted by Steve placing a hand on his shoulder. Tony turned back to look at him, puzzlement written clearly on his face.

"What's up Cap?", he asked, smiling back uncertainly. When Steve didn't immediately react, Tony's smile wavered, before falling off entirely. Steve's expression was hard and fixed. 

"Do you ever think about the consequences ?" Steve spoke in a tight, harsh tone. He wasn't shouting. Not yet. But the palpable anger was there, right below the surface, ready to burst out at the slightest provocation. Tony, for better or worse, failed to pick up on this.

"Consequences? What do you mean consequences?"

" That little stunt you pulled back there?"

"You mean saving the day?" he retorted, irritation starting to creep into his voice as well. 

" Try again." When Tony stared back blankly, Steve huffed out breath, voice already rising slightly , " how about the whole about rushing off without any sort of backup or plan.? Does that sound familiar?" 

"There wasn't any time." Tony shrugged his shoulders carelessly," if I hadn't acted then, things would have been much worse."

"You don't know that."

"I do actually. Genius, remember? " Tony folded his arms with a cocky smile. The one he usually flashed when he was on the defense from the press or those who cared about him. Like Steve. 

"No one can predict the future, Tony. ", Steve countered mildly , folding his arms while trying to keep his tone reasonable. 

"I don't need to predict the future to know that if I had waited any longer, half the city block would have been reduced to a pile of rubble." Tony mirrored Steve and folded his arms as well," you can't always play by the rule book Cap. "

"You were almost killed. " Steve didn't quite say _again_ , but the implication was certainly there. Irlt was an old argument of theirs, like a partially healed wound, ready to be reopened at the slightest provocation. Tony ran a hand wearily down his face.

" But I wasn't, and what's more, it worked. Now if you don't mind, I have wirk to do." With that, Tony turned away and started to leave. In his mind the conversation was finished, null and void. Steve however, had other thoughts. 

"Hey, we're not done here." Now the anger was there, as the "captain" in him had come out in full force. Almost without thinking, Steve had strode forward and roughly grabbed Tony by the wrist and forearm. Tony flinched as if he had been shocked, but did not move to get away. 

Tony had been surprised, to say the least. His whole face had turned a shade of red fit to match his armor, standing statue while Steve closer still. The soldier's grip was firm in a way that was almost intoxicating. In all their arguments, Steve had never quite broached personal boundaries like this before. Steve had even surprised himself a bit, if he was being perfectly honest(which he was since Captain America never lied), but didn't regret it.

This had opened up something new between them, and for a while neither man seemed to know how to react. It was a wholly uncharted sense of familiarity, and an invasion of personal space at the same time. Steve had been so determined to make Tony understand the point he'd been trying to drive home, that it took him a while to fully take in the entire situation. Tony's abnormal silence, the way he was grabbing Tony's wrist(almost possevively) and their shared intoxicating closeness. Then Steve shifted his foot, causing some loose gravel to clatter, and the spell was broken. 

"Would you let go?" Tony demanded finally remembering what words were . The air around them still felt charged, with what they couldn't quite tell, but the brief moment of magic had already died. Steve seemed to give a sort of mental shake before wordlessly releasing his hold." What if you had been a couple seconds slower this morning.."

Tony rolled his eyes in response, "Well, I wasn't. And as you can clearly see, I'm alive and well. Look!" Tony made a sweeping gesture with his hands to indicate himself, whole and uninjured.

" This time." Steve emphasized, thinking of all the dozens of past missions and last second escapes, but mostly his experience in the warped reality. There had been no last second escapes that time. Only dumb luck, "We are a team Tony. There is no need for you to take unnecessary risks by yourself."

Steves words tumbled out like heavy stones. The silence between them heavier still. Tony seemed to deflate before Steve's very eyes. No longer agitated, but quietly thoughtful.

Tony's response, when it came, was quiet and maybe a little sad, "Sometimes risks are necessary." 

"That doesn't mean you blindly hurtle yourself into danger without a thought!" Steve retorted angrily, instinctively taking a couple steps forward before catching himself. Taking that tone would only make matters worse. Steve allowed a couple seconds to pass before he felt suitably in control of his emotions. When he spoke next, his voice was so quiet that Tony had to lean forward to hear" When we were stuck in that alternate reality...you died Tony. You died and all I could do was watch." 

" It was my decision, Cap." Tony shrugged trying for nonchalance," I'm not helpless you know. I've been at this hero thing for years now..sometimes it feels like a lifetime." 

Steve nodded in understanding. Both of them had seen hell and kept coming back for more. One day their luck was sure to run out, and if Steve could choose his own death, dying for something he believed in would make the top of the list. And yet...." I know you are not helpless Tony. It's just.." Steve broke off with a sigh.

Steve opened his mouth once more to try explain his feelings, but was interrupted by a loud cough coming from behind. Steve and Tony both whipped around in mutual indignation to see Clint leaning against a tree some distance away and regarding them with a bored expression.

"Soooo..are the two of you done yet?"

When neither one answered, Clint heaved a dramatic sigh," If the two of you don't finish this touchy-feely talk or whatever's going on soon we are going to leave without you." Steve glared at him and Clint raised his hands in a placating gesture." Hey, don't look at me. Nat's driving. I'm just relaying the message."

Steve and Tony exchanged a look, a brief moment of mutual understanding thatu this wasn't over, before Steve turned to Clint, "I think we're good."

"Yeah. I think so" Tony agreed.

\--------''''''''''''''''''

The entire jet ride had been an awkward situation spent in near total silence. After their earlier conversation, the two men needed space. This meant that the second they had exited the jet, Steve went straight to the gym and Tony was already tapping away on his tablet as he headed to the lab.

It wouldn't be until the following day that they would see one another again. Steve stood outside the lab door carrying two mugs of knocking, once, twice, before Tony's voice had called from inside, granting entry.

Organized chaos was the best way to describe the lab, but also a pretty accurate description of Tony as well. With wires reaching out from every corner of the room, console lights flickering on and off intermittently, and tools strewn all over the place Steve was often left wondering how Tony ever managed to find anything. Fortunately the man himself was found easily enough, sitting in his office chair abd staring intently at the complex set of mathematical symbols on the screen.

" Was wondering what you were up to" Steve greeted, setting one mug of coffee within reasonable distance, " guess I should have known."

"Yeah. Well some of us have to work you know." Tony muttered, without even looking away from the screen. In the same movement he brought the coffee mug to his lips and took a deep draught, "anyway what can I do for you Cap?" 

"You forgot didn't you?" Steve folded his arms and leaned against the desk with a smirk.

" Forgot what?"

"Team movie night."

"Can't. I'm too busy." Tony still hasn't looked up from the screen, but his fingers were typing faster than ever.

"I'm sure whatever you're working on can hold off for just a few hours." 

Tony took.l another swig of coffee and continued to ignore him.

" Also I. told the team if you wouldn't come down willingly I'd carry you down kicking and screaming if I had to."

That at last had gotten a response. Tony swiveled around in his chair to stare at Steve balefully,"You wouldn't"

"Want to test it." 

Tony decided that no he didn't. Much better to walk down himself and maintain some semblance of dignity. " I swear though, if I have to watch another movie with singing animals I'm barricading myself in this room permanently."

Steve couldn't help but smile at this, "Deal."

..

As they made their way down the main staircase that led to the central lobby, both men were greeted by the delicious aroma of freshly popped popcorn. Less fortunate was the fact that the rest of the team had already and made a claim on seating arrangement..leaving only the small sofa for Steve and Tony. Steve briefly wondered if they had planned this.

Tony let out a groan that echoed Steve's inner thoughts,"Seriously?"

"Hey it's first come first serve." Clint taunted from where he was perched on the arm of one of the love seats, " and besides...you two were having your deep feely talk or whatever yesterday so I thought you'd appreciate it."

Steve scowled with a look that could sour milk, as he sat delicately at one end of the sofa. Tony followed suit, huffing as he plopped down heavily on the other end. Thankfully aside from Clint, the rest of the team were decent enough not to comment.

"So what are we watching first tonight?" Sam asked as he put away his phone. He had school the next day and wouldn't be able to stay long, but planned on staying for at least one. 

"Bambi!" Hulk roared excitedly.

"No, no, no. " Clint interjected hurriedly, " we watched Bambi last week. And the week before." 

Hulk growled, thrusting his face forward till he was glaring down mere inches from the unfortunate archer "We. Watch. Bambi."

"Bambi it is. "

As the first movie played, no one with the exception of Hulk really paid any attention.much attention. And after that was Thor's choice...a food documentary of all things. The Asgardian was fascinated by the numerous Earth delicacies displayed on the screen, and often compared them to cuisine back on Asgard. As of yet, no one tried to tell him that food documentaries weren't typical choices on movie night.

Sam left soon after that, and then Natasha chose some horror movie that involved the typical bunch of phenomenally dumb teenagers in a haunted house. Thor and Hulk both took a break to make more popcorn , and instead ended up getting into some kind of disagreement. Tony winced, at the alarming sounds coming from the kitchen, but did his best to ignore it. That could wait for another day.

About halfway through the movie Clint picked, Tony was starting to get restless and had ended leaning against Steve so that his head was propped against the solidiers broad shoulder

"What? You make a good pillow " Tony explained in response to Steve's wondering look. 

After that, Steve found it hard to pay attention to anything that was happening on the screen. It wasn't so much that he minded being used as a pillow it was more the fact that Tony was inexplicably pressed up against him in a way that was impossible to ignore. Steve could the beating of his heart. Could smell the expensive cologne, and under that, the scent of oil and all other matter of strange chemicals he toyed with in his workshop. Tony who was made iron, but soft and warm all the same.

Steve was immensely grateful that the lights were out , otherwise no one would miss blush he felt discoloring his entire face. 

Eventually Natasha and Clint had both left, so that they were the only two remaining. Which still did nothing to make the situation any less awkward.

Steve checked the clock to see that it was a little past midnight when " Back to the Future" began playing across the screen

Steve had chosen that particular movie because it made him think of not only Tony, but also a bit of he, himself. The man out of time, waking up seventy years in the future. To Steve's amusement, Tony had spent the majority of the movie either pointing out the errors in the "science" or muttering "that's impossible in a voice blurred with sleep whenever a major plot point occurred.

By the time the credits started rolling Steve was ready to call it a night. It was only when he had started to get up, did he remember that Tony was still laying up against him. 

Steve heaved a tired sigh," Tony, the movie is over can you-

Tony had fallen asleep . Tony had fallen asleep on him, and was now snoring away peacefully. 

Steve didn't know what to do. Part of him wondered that maybe if he was extremely careful he could slip out from underneath without waking him up. Steve regarded the man as he considered the predicament. While asleep, Tony looked peaceful in a way which he never did while he was awake. So different it was almost like seeing him for the first time once again. 

Steve decided he couldn't wake him. He was not always a hardass (whatever certain team members might say). What's more, the Avengers weren't exactly the poster children for healthy sleep habits. Tony likely could use all the sleep he could get. So instead of shifting him off, Steve fished his "handy dandy" Stark pad, out of his pocket and resigned himself to a long night of catching up on literature. 

After all, Steve could think of worse ways to fall asleep. 


End file.
